Meet The GFW19 Winners: Jainelly Portocarrero Torres

Now working as a product merchandiser at Burberry, Jainelly Portocarrero Torres graduated from Ravensbourne University and went on to win the Considered Design Award powered by Farfetch, as GFW19. We caught up with Jainelly to learn about her final project RE-UP, what she leant during her time at university and her advice for final year students.

Firstly, a huge congratulations on winning at Graduate Fashion Week 2019! What award did you win?
I Won the Sustainable Considered Design Award powered by Farfetch.

How did it feel when your name was read out during the show?
My sustainable project was something I was very passionate about and when presenting to the judges I received amazing feedback but I was aware the competition was very hard as everyone’s work was outstanding, hearing my name being called was a sense of relief because I knew at that moment all my hard work had paid off and I had accomplished one of many goals

Tell us about your story. What lead you to fashion and choosing that course/ Which university did you attend and what course did you study?
I went to Ravensbourne where I did a foundation course in art and design, I then chose the fashion promotion pathway for the final half of the course where I learnt how to use software’s such as Adobe Indesign and illustrator and also learnt photography. I then chose fashion buying and brand management for my degree, a very well prepared course where I learnt visual merchandising, merchandising, fashion buying and product development, manufacturing and sustainability, business planning and trend forecasting.

Ravensbourne prepared me for graduation through the mix of practical and theory-based learning helping me develop and strengthen my problem solving, management and organisational skills to name a few. In addition, presentations to the class helped me prepare for the industry as talking in public was a weakness of mine.
The most valuable thing that I learnt at Ravensbourne was to always go for any opportunity that crossed my path, I was very lucky to have great tutors who always pushed towards them and through this, I entered a competition to intern at Hamid fabric a Manufacturing mill in Bangladesh which I was lucky enough to be chosen and also entered the GFW award competition.

Describe the inspiration and concept behind your work/Talk us through your final project presented at GFW. How did that come about?
My passion has always been to upcycle my own clothes at home, it’s been a passion of mine for a very long time but never thought anything of it, when researching if other brands do the same and finding out no other brands offer this service I immediately realised there was an opportunity for my idea.
I identified a clear gap in the sustainable market for the eco-conscious consumers for stylish trend lead items providing an upcycling service for a longer-lasting product.

I then came up with my brand called RE-UP which stands for Reduce, Reuse, Recycle and Upcycle.
“At Re-up we believe every item has the potential to live beyond its intended purpose and no garment should be of single-use. Our mission is to conserve our planet's most important resources by reducing the waste we produce through creating sustainable clothing with an upcycling service for a longer-lasting product. Re-up was born out of our founder’s passion for upcycling and reinventing pieces from her own wardrobe to give them a second use. Re-up's fashion-forward up-cycling aims to increase awareness and save our planet’s resources." 

My final project involved in-depth research into sustainable sourcing and manufacturing, eco- conscious consumers, a sustainable and economical service and sustainable packaging.

What themes do you explore with your final year project? And what do they mean to you?
In my final project I explore sustainability within fashion, the increase of clothing landfill and how the fashion industry is impacting the global change. These topics are very important to myself as its something we all need to take into consideration and I feel we all should be aware of the impact the fashion industry has on our planet, we should be looking for ways to reduce waste and help our planet.

What sort of work did you undertake and how did you decide to work this way?
In order to find if consumers would buy into my gap in the market I carried out primary research such as questionnaires and focus groups I also interviewed people within the sustainable industry. I also carried out secondary research where I used platforms such as MINTEL, WGSN and EDITED which I used to gather information.

Many say that the industry is undergoing a huge change, with sustainability, diversity and responsibility becoming huge themes. Do you have any opinions on these movements?
I feel the fashion industry is one of the major polluting industries in the world and has a huge impact on our environment, although some brands are becoming more sustainable I feel all brands should offer sustainable products and provide ways and tips we could reduce waste.

How would you describe your personal style? What influences you the most?
For me, following trends isn’t as important as that involves buying new clothes most the time which my aim is to help reduce waste by using my own through upcycling the garments.

How are you hoping your work will evolve in the future?/Do you have any upcoming projects we should be on the lookout for?
 I don’t have any project coming up but I would like to start working on the RE-UP project again as I haven’t had time since I left Ravensbourne and started working at Burberry.

Graduate Fashion Week provides a platform for emerging fashion graduates to showcase their work regardless of the specific discipline. Which area of the industry are you hoping to pursue, and what informed this choice?
I now work for Burberry as a Product Merchandiser so I plan to stay here to gain as much experience as possible, but I do wish to continue my project on the side.

Where do you hope to be in five year’s time?
In five years time I hope to have worked for Burberry for three years and have gained all the experience I needed to move on to a different company. My dream is to work abroad for a year such as in Amsterdam for Tommy Hilfiger or Nike, so would hoped to have started working abroad as well as learning the language.

Tell us a bit more about your career journey since showing at Graduate Fashion Week. How have you found life in the industry? (This question can be left)
I have found life in the industry challenging at first, I went from my comfort zone knowing everything and everyone to starting all over again in a huge company such as Burberry. However its been an amazing experience so far, I’m enjoying every moment and cannot wait to see what the future holds.

What one thing would you recommend our visitors do whilst at GFW?
Have a good look through students work and try to get to know their interest and goals.

If you could give one piece of advice to yourself in first year at university, what would it be?
To keep being committed and passionate with my work and not let other students grades distract you
What top five tips would you give to final year students?
Use your tutors as much as you can, they are here to help
Go/apply for every opportunity that comes your way
Make a plan with deadlines and be organised
Make loads of clear notes that you can go back on
Enjoy it! It goes very quick

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Skills

Fashion Communication